The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-01-26

Description of sine HaHne OF fha
AurorH Hs0reaiIs.

Amrore s0xealIs.
For the same latitude, the United StateA
Is better situated than other lands to view
the aurora borealis when it breaks forth.
At Pekin, in China, display of the north
ern lights has never been seen, and the
Chinese are very careful with their records
Of this character, aud run much further
back into ancient time than our own. Still,
Pekin is about the same distance from the
North Pole, or ON about the same parallel
of latitude, as Philadelphia, Pa; Columbus,
Ohio; indianapolis; Springfield, H., and
Denver, Col, at any one of which placeE
the displays are not infrequent and often.
lines quite vivid. About New York citr
md that parallel we see them as frequently
as they 60 along the northern shores OF
Siberia, although it is nearly two thousand
miles nearer the pole. In fact, the aurora
borealis has sort of pole of its own, or
what we call the magnetic pole, descrip-
ton Of which you can look up in your en-.
cyclopedias, which tell you that the needle Of
the compass here refuses to work, and that
the magnetic needle, working in vertical
plane Cor dip needle) stands straight up
and down.
Nearly all our readers have probably
seen the beautiful bows of brilliant flame
the auroras form in the north. Well, the
centre Of the highest point of this bow or
arc is always directly over or on line
drawn from the spectator to the magnetic
pole. Its highest point appears almost
directly north Of US, because the magnetic
pole is almost due north; but in Great
Britain or Norway the highest point of the
beautiful chromatic curve would be TO the
northwest, while in Siberia or the upper
part of the japanese Islands the top of the
arc would be to the northeast. In fact,
many explorers have been north of the
north magnetic pole, and from here they
say they see tho highest point of the brilliant
bow in the south, as il they passed north
ward to the east side of this peculiar pole
the auroral arc was in the west at the time
in short, as l have said before, it is in the
direction of the north magnetic pole, and if
you viii look on map of arctic North
America you will probably see this point
charted on the west side Of the Bothnia
Peninsula.
1t was here that it was discovered and
located by Sir James arke Ross in 1881,
but since that time it has travelled west
ward. The rate at which it so travels has
been given various values by different
scientists. There seems to be general
movement westward around the world of all
magnetic forces, which the pole is only ac-
companying with all the rest
When the mariners compass was first
discovered, or brought from China, many
hundred years ago, the needle pointed
nearly north in England, and the magnetic
pole was probably about Spitzbergen, or
between that country and Greenland. Now,
the place where the needle points true
north is in the United States, having cross.
ed the Atlantic; and in Great Britain the
magnetic needle points nearly northwest.
And SO the auroral displays, which are
celestial manifestations Of magnetic force,
are also slowly travelling around the worll
every one thousand TO two thousand years.
giving each northern country series Of
most beautiful effects.
But if the aurora borealis is so dependent
upon the north magnetic pole, and increases
It's frequency and brilliancy OF display as Il
Is approached, what must they be, one
would naturally think, at the magnetic pole
itself? The first inference is that we would
expect TO see q perfect dome Of playing
prismatlc colors In the heavens all the time,
or at least in the winter. when the long
arctic nights would be favorable toward
such brilliant effects. On the contrary, tho
north magnetic pole is one of the poorest
places possible to see the maximum displays
Of these fireworks of the frigid zones. The
author of this article spent small part Of o
winter very near this spot--near enough to
witnessed any auror@, and the few displays
where SO many were expected were quite
noticeable for their paucity, after diligently
watching for them for q long time. In
fact, an observer must get few hundred
miles away from the magnetic pole to see
the greatest number of auror@ borealis and
the finest displays Of them.